Make sure you're matching the degree of recipe difficulty in the book to the ability of the cook. Don't buy a book that calls upon skills and methods the cook doesn't have, like boning a quail, or making puff pastry from scratch.

If you live in an area that doesn't have many shops carrying specialty ingredients, there's not much point getting someone a book which calls for a lot of them.

Always check the photos. They tell you how appetizing the recipes can look, and whether it's something you can visualize on a dinner plate. Books WITHOUT photos generally cost less, so you need to look a little more carefully at the ingredient list and recipe instructions to see if it's a good fit.